The present invention is directed to an artificial stone siding product and, more particularly, to an artificial stone siding product for use as siding for homes, commercial buildings, and other structures, as well as for hearths, mantles, and other similar interior structures.
Artificial stones and bricks have been known for several years and several different methods exist for mounting these artificial stones and bricks. The most common system uses an artificial stone known as “manufactured stone,” which is attached to the surface of a wall using mortar cement spread on a specially prepared surface using a trowel. In order for the mortar to adhere to the vertical surfaces of the wall, it is necessary to attach waterproof construction paper overlaid with metal mesh to the surface of the wall to provide a rough surface to hold the mortar in place. The consistency of the mortar used to attach the artificial stone is also important, as it must have sufficient thickness and tackiness to retain and hold the stones or bricks once the stones or bricks have been attached to the surface of the wall.
The manufactured stone artificial stones are generally fabricated with a fairly flat rear surface. The stones are held in place by placing the stone on the surface covered with the mortar and then applying pressure against the stone, thus creating suction between the mortar and the artificial stone that holds the stone in place until the mortar cures. However, when larger and heavier artificial stones are used, the weight of the stone will have a tendency to cause the stone to move, settle, or slide downward in the mortar as the mortar cures until it abuts an adjacent stone and must be repositioned. The artificial stones may also become detached from the wall and fall to the ground before the mortar completely cures, particularly when the environment in which the installation occurs increases the cure time of the mortar or interferes with the initial suction holding the stone to the wall.
To avoid these problems, nails or screws can be driven into the rigid backing structure behind the artificial stones to provide additional support to the stone and hold the stones in place until the mortar cures. However, driving the nails or screws in the proper locations to hold the stones is time-consuming and, once the mortar has set, the nails or screws must be removed, which may cause damage to the mortar and, unless the holes left by the removed nails or screws are filled, affect the aesthetics of the final wall.
A further disadvantage of this system is that it is not possible to construct a wall outdoors using the mortar and artificial stones when the weather is cold, snowy, rainy, or otherwise very damp, as such weather interferes with the setting of the mortar. In such weather it often is necessary to cover or shelter the mortar and artificial stones to shield the wall and the person constructing the wall from the weather, which adds time and cost to the process of building the wall.
A still further disadvantage of this system is that it is difficult to cover a large surface of a wall quickly unless the installer is experienced in mixing the proper consistency of the mortar and has developed expertise in selecting stone sizes, arrangements, and patterns that minimize slippage. Significant experience and/or training is often necessary for an installer to install a large wall covered by the artificial stones. For the above reasons, this system has proven to be labor intensive, costly, and often inconvenient.